So there’s been a lot of criticism of McCain for a comment he made concerning our service members’ stay in Iraq. He said that he wasn’t as concerned about leaving Iraq as he was our safety in Iraq. His primary goal there is to sharply cut down the casualty rate. If this means that we’re there a bit longer, then so be it.

And you know what? I’m fine with that, for a few reasons. First of all, what would be so bad about being in Iraq if it was safe (which, statistically speaking, is not as far off as some might think)? Well, some would say that being deployed is bad. To that, all I have to say is, if you joined the armed forces, active or reserve, you should be more than ready to leave your home for 6 to 12 months at a time. If your marriage cannot handle such a departure, than either the Service is not for you, or you shouldn’t have gotten married in the first place.

Keep in mind, Iraq is simply a deployment. Just because someone gets sent to Iraq does not mean that they are out patrolling the streets, kicking down doors, shooting, getting shot at, and getting blown up. In fact, thousands of people deployed to Iraq do no more than their actual MOS (Military Occupational Specialty, which can range anywhere from actual infantry to a cook). Unless you are a Marine, you will most likely be stuck in Iraq performing the job you were trained to do, be that a cook, a water purification specialist, or intel, and the most dangerous thing you would do would be to go on a convoy from one station to another.

Additionally, what about Afghanistan? How come no one talks about Afghanistan? I’ll tell you why: the media. All they ever talk about is Iraq, which really isn’t that bad. It’s summer now, and the heat is scheduled to pick up in Afghanistan (yes, they are that lazy that they rest during the winter because it is cold, and when it is finally warm enough to do some attacking, they come out). In fact, troop levels there are on the rise, while levels in Iraq are stabilizing or seeing reductions. Perhaps not much attention is paid there because it’s so hard to spell. That must be it. It’s far simpler to type the four letter word “Iraq” than to go all out with one of the -Stans. I see how it is.

But on a serious note, how much research have you, yourself, done on the subject? Have you talked to any vets from this war? Even anyone in the active duty service at all?

I am a Marine. Active duty. Chances are fairly good that I will get sent over there within the next couple of years, and because I am a Marine, I could find myself out of my designated air wing fixing circuit boards, out doing patrols. So? This is what I signed up for. This is what we all signed up for. So, instead of focusing so much on a war that you really are not involved in, please focus on something that will really impact the country, like education, welfare, public transportation, alternative energy, etc. There is nothing I value more than a good education. That’s a good place to start. Somewhere that will impact our children’s future.

I say this because regardless of who the president is, the Iraq war will end. We will either stop getting killed or we will leave. But if we focus all this energy on Iraq, we forget about home, and the things that really matter to keep our country rolling.

Think about that as we move closer to the election. What is really important to you.

¨Every single combat death and injury sustained by our fighting forces is a deep loss. But those who decry the 4000 military deaths related to the liberation of Iraq as somehow a disproportionate historic disaster do not have much perspective. A Navy vet reader of AT who prefers anonymity has produced a graphic representation to supply some perspective:¨